|
|
twolines
Introduction by Olivia E. Sears
Whether the Latin word for “cell” originated from celare,
the verb meaning to hide, or from cero, for the wax of a honeycomb,
it soon became Rome’s common word for a store-closet, a slave’s room,
or a prison cell. In all its original meanings, “cell” seems to
describe a small space dependent upon a larger structure.
As monasteries adopted the word to refer to their residences, the meaning
expanded. For those devoted to the religious life, a cell’s walls
offered a barrier from the profane and an opportunity for insight; they
offered isolation to aid in reflection and spiritual growth.
|
|
In the 20th century, science has popularized new meanings
for the word. Although scientists first borrowed the term based on their
belief
that the biological cell was much like a physical cell—a
discrete formation with nearly impenetrable walls—biologists today
consider the cell more permeable, its wall acting as a selective barrier,
preserving the differences between interior and exterior, yet allowing
specified interaction with the environment. Much as it was when monks and
hermits first retreated from society, the cell is once again regarded as a
locus for transformation.
In fact, most contemporary definitions of the word “cell” imply
activity. The honeycomb is a place of production for the bee; cellular
telephones offer instantaneous networks of communication; batteries’
stored energy gives our machines mobility. And the social cells of
revolutionary groups can effect change throughout a society. Yet, amongst
all the definitions, it is one of the oldest that still dominates: the
prison cell, the only cell that exists solely to restrict activity
The most recognized prisoner in recent history may be
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. Mandela was released from prison on February
11, 1990, and soon thereafter was elected president of South Africa. On
the 11th anniversary of Mandela’s release, recordings from the trial
that sentenced him to life in prison were made public.
Referred
to in his trial as “Accused Number One”, Mandela was charged with acts
of sabotage designed to foment violent revolution. He gave a three-hour
speech in
his
defense, his last public words before his imprisonment. In June of 1964,
he was sentenced to life in prison at Robben Island. Mandela spoke that
day about a society’s confinement of its people and the consequences of
that isolation. These words, quiet for so long, are worth hearing again:
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Africans
… want to be allowed to live well, to obtain work, and
not be endorsed out of an area because we were not born
there. We want to be allowed, and not to be obliged, to
live in rented houses which we can never call our own. We
want to be part of the general population and not confined
to living in our ghettos. African men want to have their
wives and children to live with them, where they work, and
not to be forced into an unnatural existence in men’s
hostels. Our women want to be with their men folk and not
to be left permanently widowed in the reserves. We want to
be allowed out after eleven o’clock at night, and not to
be confined to our rooms like little children. |
|
|
We want to be allowed to travel in our
own country and to seek work where we want to.... We want
a just share in the whole of South Africa.... Our struggle
is a truly national one. It is a struggle of the African
people, inspired by our own suffering and our own
experience. It is a struggle for the right to live.
[pause]
|
|
|
| During my lifetime I have dedicated my
life to this struggle of the African people. I have fought
against white domination, and I have fought against black
domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and
free society in which all persons will live together in
harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal for
which I hope to live for and to see realised. But, my
lord, if it needs be, it is an ideal for which I am
prepared to die |
|
Excerpt
from Nelson Mandela’s speech at the Rivonia Trial, April 20, 1964, Track
5 (5’27") NSA C985, from dubbings made by The British Library
National Sound Archive, NELSON MANDELA: THE RIVONIA TRIAL (Pretoria, South
Africa 1963-1964).
Note:
The South African Broadcasting Corporation located the recordings from
Mandela’s trial, which were stored on “dictabelts”, a technology
long ago abandoned. After searching the world, the SABC discovered that
The British Library had a dictabelt machine preserved in its archives.
Researchers used the machine to bring Mandela’s young voice back to
life.
2000 DevronPublishing © All Rights Reserved
|
-2006®